US panel considers location for Toyota lawsuits

San Diego 
Attorneys for Toyota are asking a panel of federal judges to consolidate more than 200 lawsuits involving sudden acceleration problems before a single judge in Los Angeles.

Toyota lawyer Cari Dawson told the U.S. Panel on Multidistrict Litigation at a hearing in San Diego on Thursday that the company favors combining dozens of personal injury and wrongful death cases nationwide in the California court. The company also says the same court should handle all the potential class-action lawsuits filed around the country claiming safety recalls caused the value of Toyota vehicles to fall.

Attorneys say there are currently 138 potential class-action lawsuits concerning vehicle values and about 97 personal injury and wrongful death cases against Toyota Motor Corp. in federal courts.